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Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas, everyone! Father Glitcher is here to teach you the true meaning of Christmas. *points to new avatar*
Our lesson for the day concerns the sharing of gifts on this blessed season. On another forum, I posted a topic asking if everyone had finished their Christmas shopping yet. Some were all bought and wrapped, some were still getting around to it, but there were also a few who replied that they helped each other choose gifts for themselves.
Now I'm a little irked by that, because I've always respected the tradition where gifts are meant to be a surprise and you should appreciate whatever present you get. As the old saying goes, "It's the thought that counts." The thoughtfulness is not just in the generosity, but the choice of gift. Something that you believe the recipient would really enjoy shows more consideration than the people who replied they bought gift cards. Gifts cards are practical, but impersonal, and I don't think they convey the same sensitivity of the Christmas spirit.
You might say that I'm nitpicking and I can excuse these quibbles as different traditions, but one thing that really riles me are the people who wrote about only buying gifts for themselves! There are many different ways that people celebrate Christmas religiously and socially, but selfishness isn't one of them. I mean, why celebrate the holiday at all when you buy stuff for yourself all year round? One guy even had the gall to say he didn't buy gifts because they're too expensive, but that didn't stop him from splurging on his hobby.
I tried to make them see reason, but they wouldn't listen. Am I alone in this? Do you believe that Christmas is a time when you should think of others before yourself, or do you feel it's okay for people to treat only themselves this holiday?
PS. I'm packing to leave for California on Dec 21. What could possibly go wrong?
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I'm with your friend Eiko on surprises. It's very hard to shop for people in my family and, excepting my dad - who's obsessed with superficial aspects of holidays anyway - we're not even big on gifts since we have and can acquire most anything we need the rest of the year. The last time I was 'surprised' I got a southwestern styled cowboy hat with turquoise beading, and honestly that's just embarrassing for both the receiver and the giver. Surprises are ideal, yes, but they really only work if the receiver is a. really easy to please or b. very predictable in terms of interests and hobbies. Otherwise, I much prefer if someone gives me at least a guideline of what to get them for Christmas and I don't mind telling others either. It saves us time and headaches in the end. Also, count me in as another person who likes gift cards.
I like giving and getting gift cards. It's money to use for whatever you want, and you can make them very personal by giving one from a store you know the person loves. My mom adores Hobby Lobby, so I got her one from there. I think it's weird when people buy stuff for themselves. You have 11 other months to do that.
And yeah, I always have more fun unwrapping a present than a gift card, unless of course, the gift card was mailed by someone who lives clear across the U.S. XD A card is easier to ship than a present.
Though, I haven't been concerned with what I get for christmas for a few years - my birthday is in February so like....people have started doing one or the other so I've come not to expect anything at all.
You see, I know that I'm a hard person to buy gifts for. I barely know what I would buy myself as a gift so I don't expect others to know. I tend to drive people crazy when they have to buy gifts for me. My boyfriend is exactly the same - he doesn't know what he wants (or what he wants is VERY expensive and/or VERY tech-specific). So it's tough finding him a gift. So yes, we both told each other what we wanted for X-mas and there will be very little surprises for us under the X-mas tree.
Gift cards might be impersonal but quite frankly, I'd much rather have a gift card so that I can buy something I enjoy than receive a gift that I dislike and pretend to enjoy. I don't see the joy in that, not for the recipient or the giver. The way I see gift cards is that whatever I end up buying with it, that was the real gift that said person gave me.
To me, Christmas spirit isn't really about gift-giving. It's a nice added bonus for sure but to me, Christmas has and always will be about spending time with my loved ones and enjoying a wonderful meal.
I've been trying to escape this blasted state all my life. What's bringing you here anyway, and what part, exactly, are you headed for?
All the same, I'm from much further south than Huntington, and I don't really know LA all that much. I'll be in the area the next two days from today (Thursday) visiting family, but otherwise I'm afraid you're on your own.